Ted Cruz says Donald Trump said he will be 'neutral' between Israel and Palestinians

The Republican candidates have competed to portray themselves as the top fan of Israel.

During the GOP debate in Miami, Sen. Ted Cruz attacked Donald Trump for his stance on Israeli-Palestinian relations.

"On Israel, Donald has said he wants to be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians," said Cruz. "As president, I will not be neutral."

Trump defended his record on Israel, arguing that there is "nobody on this stage that is more pro-Israel than I am."

Cruz has a point: Trump did say he wanted to be "neutral" in negotiations between Israel and Palestinians. However, that doesn’t capture the full spirit of Trump’s comments about Israel.

Trump the negotiator

Cruz was using an attack line we’ve seen before in an ad by Conservative Solutions PAC, which supports Sen. Marco Rubio for president.

Trump made the statement about being "neutral" at an MSNBC town hall in South Carolina on Feb. 17. (A Cruz spokeswoman on debate night sent us an article about Trump’s town hall comments.)

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough asked Trump whether Israelis or Palestinians were at fault for a lack of an agreement. So far, efforts have failed to work out a lasting comprehensive agreement on issues such as security, land claims, whether Israel can build settlements and recognizing each other’s right to exist.

Trump refused to pick a side, saying that would hurt his ability to serve as a negotiator.

Trump made similar comments a couple of weeks later at a Februarydebate in Houston. He said that when negotiating a deal, it wouldn’t help to pick a good guy and a bad guy:

"It doesn't help if I start saying, 'I am very pro-Israel, very pro, more than anybody on this stage,' " Trump said, adding that he can’t negotiate as well if he takes sides. "With that being said, I am totally pro-Israel."

During the debate at the University of Miami, Trump reeled off his pro-Israel credentials, including that he was a grand marshal for the Israeli Day Parade in New York. He stood by his words about his goal to remain neutral as a negotiation strategy.

Trump said although he is "pro-Israel", in order to negotiate a peace settlement, "I would like to at least have the other side think I am at least somewhat neutral to them."

Trump’s previous comments about Israel

In December, Trump suggested to the Associated Press that to negotiate a deal, the big lift may have to come from Israel.

"A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal, whether or not Israel's willing to sacrifice certain things," Trump said. "They may not be, and I understand that, and I'm okay with that. But then you're just not going to have a deal."

Trump evaded specific questions about whether Palestinian demands are legitimate but said that Israeli housing projects were a "huge sticking point" in talks.

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